


The Captain

by marimoes



Category: One Piece
Genre: Canon Compliant, Early Days, Gen, M/M, One Shot, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-01 14:09:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20816429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marimoes/pseuds/marimoes
Summary: “It’s simple.” So says the captain.His hands set into his sides like immovable objects, certainty held within his clenched fists, and Zoro is led to believe it. There is a light in this man’s eyes. A glimmer of something he hasn’t seen in such a long time; a dream.A real one.Nothing like wanting all of the world’s riches, to have power, or lust for things made by man. No—what the man in front of him wants can not be held by any mortal in their hands. He desires something much more.He desires freedom.





	The Captain

**Author's Note:**

> A short character study of sorts. I find myself thinking about those moments when it was still just Luffy and Zoro on that small boat alone. This was brought on in particular by the song The Captain by Guster. I suggest you listen to it before reading this, not because it's required, but because it's really good.

“It’s simple.” So says the captain. 

His hands set into his sides like immovable objects, certainty held within his clenched fists, and Zoro is led to believe it. There is a light in this man’s eyes. A glimmer of something he hasn’t seen in such a long time; a dream. 

A real one. 

Nothing like wanting all of the world’s riches, to have power, or lust for things made by man. No—what the man in front of him wants can not be held by any mortal in their hands. He desires something much more.

He desires _freedom_. 

It’s something that if his arms weren’t still sore from ropes, he may laugh at. Instead, he believes wholeheartedly that the want held in Luffy’s heart is simple. The idea uncomplex in its notion, but difficult to achieve. 

It’s not a question of _if_ Luffy will achieve this dream, it’s when, and Zoro has decided he’d rather like to see it. Given the display on the island left behind them in the blurred lines of the horizon, Zoro isn’t sure there is much Luffy can’t do. 

How foolish, Zoro wants to tsk, at this gentle stirring that rocks harder with each push of a wave against the side of their small boat. The nearly outrageous idea that after being independent for so long, he’s tied to someone else. 

Not just someone else: his captain. 

A word with little meaning outside of who to look for in a group while collecting bounties. Structure foreign to Zoro in his life given his rocky past. After Kuina passed, he had but one duty to fulfill. No one to follow but himself and his own desires to get strong enough to make good on his promise. 

Luffy doesn’t speak much, nothing compared to the endless babble that came from him when they met and fought just hours ago. Instead, he stands. An unwavering foot up against the edge of the ship, shirt ruffling in the breeze. 

The sun shapes around his body to create a shadow on Zoro, and for a moment it feels more than that. Like the shape of the man hovered with ambition in front of Zoro is sinking deeper into him with each minute the sky gets darker. 

A slow passing of energy between them without a word. 

Itching and awkward, a tickle jumps in Zoro’s throat causing him to cough and Luffy turns in curiosity. The fading sun highlighting his skin with pinks and oranges, turning him once again into the softer soul that Zoro is unsure he can be. 

He asks if Zoro is ok, after all he at that ground rice, and Zoro nods. Dismissing the fact quickly, so that he doesn’t have to relive it, and instead tries to focus out at the sea. 

Anywhere but into the eyes of Luffy, who is staring right through him still. 

A piercing gaze; holding far more than curiosity, it harbors something Zoro can’t place his finger on. Hope? Excitement?

Luffy laughs again, that near hiss that pours from his mouth. Pushing through his teeth with genuine enjoyment. A _shishishi_ that Zoro has a feeling he’ll hear often. 

A reality he doesn’t mind at all. 

Luffy turns back to the ocean then, says something about wanting to see the green. Zoro looks back at the mention, heart a little heavier in it’s beating at the words. 

That green the sky gets as it sets, a short blip of odd color unlike anything it’s been prior to it setting, was someone else’s favorite thing. With the thought of her in his mind, Luffy looks back, smile so similar and speaks the same words. 

“You know,” they seem to say in unison in Zoro’s head, “I like green.” 

Zoro feels himself move on instinct, placing his head into his hand propped against his knee. A sad smile tugging at his lips as he says, “Then what are you doing looking at me?” 

“Because!” Luffy argues stepping off the side of the ship, his back now entirely toward the disappearing sun, “I like green.” 

The quickly dimming light bends around his body, contorting shades and shapes across the worn wood of the ship. It creates a soft display of dancing colors through the small holes in the weave of his straw hat, making for a show far more beautiful than a simple sunset. 

“So,” Zoro says, and tries not to make his swallow audible, “Where to, Captain?” 

Again, Luffy laughs, and again his eyes shine. 

“To the Grandline!” Luffy proudly declares planting a firm foot on the side of the ship, “And beyond that!” 

Zoro feels a gentle chuckle slip from his lips, and this time when Luffy turns his face is different. Amusement and wonder gone, replaced with something far more serious. Something that quickly steals the laugh from Zoro’s mouth and replaces it with a held tongue. 

A look that is held in Luffy’s eyes, a sudden fire that pulls heat to Zoro’s neck. 

Luffy lets his eyes hold for a second longer before they again tear away, lips twitching again into a smile. He again looks toward the horizon, and as the stars start to show their faces, Zoro feels like Luffy is showing too. 

That there is far more to the strange rubber man, the one currently bending his arms across his body in ways that would break others. Something lies within him that isn’t yet known to Zoro, despite every other aspect of his personality easily read like a book.

One whose cover grabs you in an instant, colors simple and warm with a promise of adventure inside. 

Night falls on them like a blanket, her hands gentle in placing everything into place. A cool wind carries across the soft breaking peaks of the ocean and for a moment, Zoro forgets. 

Let’s himself get lost in the motion and sensation of the waves, eyes scanning the skies just as he would all those years ago. 

Luffy stirs for a moment on the other side of the small ship, tossing, trying to find a position to stay. His hair is ruffled with salt and sea, and small curls blow gently across his face. Tanned skin that glows beneath the moon’s kiss, and Zoro finds himself envious. 

For that he wishes he could also touch it as easily. 

Instead, he closes his eyes and tries to rest, unknowing of the trouble that awaits them the next day. He stirs only at the sensation of skin against his. An unmistakable heat weighs across his lap, and he doesn’t dare move. 

Just lets him sleep. 

His captain. 

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: @noswordstyle  
Twitter: @__moes__
> 
> Yell Zolu at me!


End file.
